In 2006, the Gentlemen Collectionneurs have embarked on a project on the theme of the 30th year of Stars Wars coming in the following year.
Based initially on the creation of a squadron of X-Wing, every gentleman had given a number (Red Leader, Red 2 ...), the project quickly evolved into the realization of a modular diorama representing the squadron above the surface of the Death Star.
This project finally becomed a compilation of smaller projects, with the x-wing squadron, reproductions of various tiles of the Death Star, the turbolaser turret, on which might be added later y-wing, tie-figters etc..

Here is the inital sketch showing the modular approach of the tiles, it would have permit to create different situation : trench, side view of the trench, horizontal, vertical wall ...

Each gentleman had it in its todo list the realization of a red squadron x-wing, the scratch of a death star tile, that we would reproduced in resin and/or styrofoam.
The choice of the common basis of Xwing was immediately focused on the 1/72 Fine Molds kit, which the only kit available at that date and combining quality and an appropiate scale for a diorama with a whole squadron.
Luckily, at that time, the Star Wars exhibition was still based in Paris, and if there was no Xwing showned, the turret and the tiles of the Death Star were effectively there, which allowed us to map these original pieces.

Started slowly, the X-Wing project, as we had called it, went slowly, with Denis Troussard on his X-Wing Red 4 and the thermoforming a scratched tile, the scratch of thr turret on my side, etc..

Approached by Mike Reccia, editor of the mag MFFS who also wanted to present a topic on 30th years of SW, our project ended up with a dead-end line unreachable in view of our progress (the article had to be ready by the end of 2006). We have therefore reduced our ambitions and we focus on a few focal points, namely the elements already initiated, and completing the project by upgrades of previous personal projects of the Gentlemen. These SW articles appeared in the issue 5 of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller mag and then in last issues of Dixième Planète (a now defunct french magazine).

I will present the building of the X-Wing in the next post.

Note that the upgrade kit of the X-Wing cockpit by RetroSF, and mastered of Olivier Herman, can be considered as a far consequence of this project.

It does not remember a series of well-known pictures? It ILM at home

Some test scenarios quickly with a mouse pad Deathstar II

And now the staging, before Migennes 2009, with the tiles and the turbolaser turret

Some views centered on Red 1

centered on Red 2

centered on Red 3

centered on Red 4

centered on Red 5

focalized on the turret

I did not have a sixth X-Wing, I have therefore not made Red 6. Netertheless, what I could find indicates that the cockpit is like Yellow Red 4, the fuselage has a dirty gray-brown particularly broad, from the nose and covering up the fuselage midway copkit, unity R2 is red, the belly of the fuselage looks very dirty (and perhaps much more marked than for Red3).

At Migennes could not go there, it's Denis who undertook the installation of the diorama.